Emotions Unmasked
by Queen-of-Ice101
Summary: University is a time of learning and developing new friendships as students take the next step in their life, and one of the best times is when holidays roll around and events are held in celebration. All Hallows' Eve is no different, and for two students of the illustrious Shadwood Acadamy in particular it promises to be a night not soon forgotten. (AV3 Halloween fluffy AU)


Hello all!

So after all the suffering I have inflicted upon you guys I made a promise to the wonderful Berry that to make up for the horrible things I have done to the Aveyond characters that I would produce fluff sweet enough to rival all the candy you'll find for Halloween. Well I have delivered...in spades...drenched in sugar...and coated in icing and sprinkles...yeah I went a bit crazy.

So here is the promised fluff on sugar steroids and I hope you all enjoy my Halloween and fluff insanity. I believe I shall go write something creepy to make up for this now...

XD XD Enjoy!

Special thanks to Berry for saving me as I banged my head against the mental writers wall trying to figure out a title:D

* * *

 **Emotions Unmasked**

* * *

There was a brisk chill in the fall air as the wind sent a pile of leaves flying through the air passed an old fashioned diner. Just as they settled on the road a older car screeched to a halt in the only empty parking spot as a black haired young woman leaped out of the car and quickly locked up her car before sprinting to the door and lunging inside. She greeted an older waitress absently on her way down to a U shaped booth with several collage students sitting at it in the far end of the homey diner.

"There you are Mel! We were just about to order some food!" The brown haired boy called from where he sat next to his gentle chocolate skinned girlfriend.

"Yeah yeah Edward. Sorry I'm late! I lost track of time and then when I was trying to get here I somehow managed to end up with all the traffic lights against me." Mel said, sliding down onto the empty side of the bench.

"You didn't speed all the way here did you?" The gentle young woman sitting next to Edward questioned in concern.

"Course I did Stella, what do you take me for? A law abiding citizen?" Mel said with a snort, shrugging off her coat and nodding to the couple sitting on the inside of the bench U. "Hey Galahad. Not working today Te'ijal?"

Her question was aimed towards the red haired woman reclined back against her scowling boyfriend. Te'ijal's parents owned the place they were eating at, Ged'ahre Diner, and Te'ijal worked as one of the waitresses during the week usually.

"Afraid my sister has the day off, which means that you'll have to deal with me today." A smooth voice said from behind her, Mel spinning to see Te'ijal's younger brother smirking behind her.

"Dude, what's with the hat?" Edward snickered, gesturing up at the black and red rimmed cap that was part of his diners uniform.

"It's called a uniform, but I'm sure that concept is a foreign for you seeing as one must actually have a job in order to have one." Gyendal shot back at him, Edward letting out a theatric cry before grabbing his chest.

"Ouch, shots have been fired!" The cheerful male said dramatically, leaning into his girlfriend who shook her head with a soft giggle before turning to their friend.

"I thought you didn't work here anymore though, why are you taking a shift?"

"I owed Te'ijal so I figured that covering for her today was hardly the worst repayment one could think of." Gyendal said with a shrug before scanning the table as he flicked to a new page in the notebook in his hand. "Now, what is everyone wanting?"

Forest green eyes moved to meet hers first, Gyendal raising an expected eye.

"I'll have a large order of fries...and a ridiculous looking hat like yours to go with it."

Gyendal rolled his eyes before reaching up to pluck the hat on his head off and settle it on Mel's, laughter ripping around the table as the brim fell over Mel's eyes and she shoved it back with a snort.

"Really?!"

"What, no milkshake or float? You ever forget to avoid your sweet treat of some kind." He mocked lightly, ignoring Mel's reaction altogether.

His question successfully distracted her as she slumped in her seat, pouting.

"I'm on a budget, no extra sweet treats for me this time." She lamented, the thought of not getting her milkshake paining her.

"I'm sure you'll survive, you have yet to die from no ice cream." Galahad said unsympathetically.

"Who peed in your breakfast granola?" Mel snarked back at the sullen blond, grinning when he merely sighed.

It took only a few minutes for everyone to order and once it was over Gyendal snapped his notebook shut, turning to walk back to the kitchen only to pause and study Mel for a moment. She watched the unreadable male in confusion as he broke into a wicked grin before slowly starting away.

"You should keep the hat, looks far better on you then it could on me."

The statement was tossed casually over his shoulder as he vanished into the kitchen, Mel reaching up to touch the hat with a snort. Stella and Edward watched from across the table while Galahad and Te'ijal talked intensely about something, Edward choking on a laugh as Mel commented absently.

"What the hell is he talking about?! I don't think it's actually possible to look anything but dorky in these."

Stella shot her a startled look.

"Mel, I think he was fl-"

Whatever her violet haired friend had been about to say was cut off as Edward gave her a nudge and cut in with a snicker.

"Probably just being sarcastic, right Stella?"

The soft spoken girl gave Edward a look before nodding, leaving Mel no more clear in the point of Gyendal's statement then she had been before.

"So how many courses is everyone taking coming the new semester?" Te'ijal asked abruptly, turning away from her conversation with Galahad easily.

Attention was pulled away from what had happened earlier as the young adults debated about course scheduling. One of the waitresses that worked at the diner delivered their food, smiling as she set a tall milkshake glass in front of Mel.

"Hey wait, I never ordered a milkshake!" Mel quickly called after the waitress, gesturing at the cup.

The frizzy red haired woman who had delivered their food turned back and gave a soft giggle.

"Oh that isn't from any order, it's a gift from the kitchen. Enjoy!"

Mel blinked, staring down at the milkshake that just happened to be her favourite flavour before shrugging.

"Just a gift from someone in the back?" Galahad said, sounding amused rather then grumpy for once.

Mel shrugged before taking an eager suck from the straw.

"Guess so, I'm sure not complaining!"

Conversation paused as they all dug into their food, savouring the delicious dishes they had all ordered. Mel had only just stared inhaling her fries when she was startled out of her food haze by the sound of a dish being set down firmly on the table next to her. She looked up to see Gyendal sans his uniform apron standing over her.

"I'm taking my break, move in and make some room will you?" He said with a light nudge to her shoulder, Mel sliding down to make room as he slipped into the bench next to her.

"Nachos! Sweet!" Edward said with a quiet cheer before reaching over to grab one from Gyendal's plate.

The resounding sound of a hand being slapped made several of the other patrons look over and Edward let out a loud yelp, snatching his hand back and glaring at Gyendal which put Mel into gales of laughter.

"I don't recall inviting you to touch my food." Gyendal said, shooting a black look at their now whining friend.

Mel grinned at their antics before studying Gyendal's plate with a mischievous look in her eyes. She hesitated for a half second before quickly snatching a chip with meat and cheese off the massive stack and popping it in her mouth. The black haired male next to her snapped his head to pin his glare on her so quickly that she half expected to hear a crack. She pointedly ignored his look as she nibbled on a fry and moments later she watched a hand slide across to pluck several fries off her plate.

"Hey! How come she gets to take food without getting a smack!" Edward squawked, sounding much like a petulant child.

"She's wearing a cook hat, it's the unspoken rule of the restaurant rule that those with the cook hat may test taste what they want." Gyendal said loftily before popping her fries in his mouth.

Edward sputtered and Mel let out a triumphant sound before chomping down on her fry.

"I get special privileges and you don't, suck on that why don't you Edward?" She taunted through a mouthful of fries, the hazel eyed teen grimacing.

"Oh that's pleasant to see, thanks Mel."

She smirked and swallowed before taking a large drink of her milkshake with a sigh of pleasure.

"Remind me to send the kitchen a thank you gift." She muttered under her breath, not noticing the pointed looks aimed at Gyendal who gave an innocent shrug and returned to his food.

The rest of the meal was spent joking and sharing around different food, the friends making plans for the long weekend that started tomorrow.

"Hey, did all of you hear about the Masquerade ball that Shadwood University is putting on for All Hallows' Eve?" Galahad suddenly questioned, pausing his meal to survey everyone.

Everyone but Te'ijal and Stella stared blankly at the male and he sighed, shaking his head despite the amusement flickering in his eyes.

"It's an old tradition that was started when the school first opened, they only removed it a few years ago after a magic incident that got several students injured. But several of the professors finally managed to convince the Headmaster to bring the event back, they already have spells prepared to ensure not accidents can take place this year and everything is going ahead full steam."

Mel and her friends exchanged looks of excitement at the news, events at Shadwood University were known to be over the top and memorable in the best way possible and one put on for All Hallows' Eve, a day where the darkest parts of the magical fabric of the universe were most powerful was exciting indeed.

"Well I think that we all know what to do this weekend then. This kind of event demands proper clothing, and seeing as how All Hallows' Eve is a Dark Magic celebration it's only right that those of us who are dark mages or come from those family lines look the part." Te'ijal said slyly, several snorts of laughter coming from the others sitting around the table.

However despite their humour it was unanimously agreed that they would take that weekend to find what they needed for the Masquerade ball, the six of them making plans in excitement as they considered the event to come. Over an hour later they finally all were finished and ready to head out, everyone rising and heading to the front counter to pay.

"Hey, don't take the red one! I want that!" Mel yelped as Edward reached to grab the last red candy in the jar

"I got it first!" Edward laughed, holding his candy up in the air victoriously only to stagger backwards as Mel lunged for his arm and half hung off of him to pry the candy out of his hand. "Hey! Get off!"

"Give the candy!"

"Never!"

The two of them tussled a moment, but just as Mel was just about to get it her prize was snatched away by two large fingers. Instantly she released Edward as they turned out Galahad with twin shouts, watching in dismay as he handed it to Te'ijal who unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth with a victorious smirk.

"So delicious." She drawled before gesturing towards the cash register where Gyendal had just handed Stella's card back to her. "You two should probably pay and take the fight outside however, before you break anything important."

Edward mumbled under his breath but payed for his meal quickly, the group of them starting out of the diner as Mel reached into her pocket for her money.

"Oh yours is already payed." Gyendal said before Mel had even gotten the chance to withdraw her money.

She paused with her hand halfway into her pocket, glancing back at her friends.

"Wait, what?"

Gyendal grinned at her, amusement flickering thought his gaze.

"Yeah, this meal is on the house."

"...oh."

He laughed at her reaction before grabbing the cloth he had left on the counter behind him and strolling back towards the tables that needed cleaning.

"See you tomorrow Mel."

* * *

The next evening Mel stood outside her house waiting as a large black car pulled out in front. So distracted by her excitement about their plans it took her a moment to register as the door opened and Gyendal hopped out and gestured grandly at the inside of the sedan. She shot him a look of puzzlement and he smirked slightly.

"Edward has laid claim to the other side and I'm not sitting in the middle so get comfortable."

Mel rolled her eyes, hopping up inside to be cheerfully greeted by Edward who pulled one earbud out to salute before returning to his music. Quickly she slid into the middle seat, murmuring a quick greeting to Te'ijal and Galahad who gave a slight nod and a smile. She reached back to grab the seatbelt only to find it stuck, her brows furrowing as she tried to yank it free.

"Don't bother with that, it's been broken for almost a year and we haven't been able to fix it." Te'ijal tossed over her shoulder, Mel noticing the grimace on Galahad's face as Te'ijal's apparent lack of care about the seatbelt law.

Mel shrugged and settled into her seat as Gyendal climbed in and closed the door, his seatbelt clicking into place just as they started off. Mel turned to watch out the window, thoughts drifting absently. She was however jerked quite abruptly out of her thoughts as the car veered sharply around a corner and she was flung directly into the worst possible place in the entire car.

Gyendal's lap.

Hands grabbed her instinctively to steady her and her head whipped to stare up wide eyed at Gyendal who looked similarly startled. There was a cackle of amusement from where Edward sat on the other side of the car although Mel was far too preoccupied by her current predicament.

"Ack!"

She scrambled away, Gyendal steadying her as Te'ijal glanced back with a suspiciously innocent expression.

"Terribly sorry about that, you might want to brace yourself though since we have a lot of right turns on this ride." The older female said, smirking slightly when Galahad shot her a suspicious look.

Mel muttered something intelligible as she glared down at her lap, face burning. Anyone else would have been better to fall on top of, Galahad would have been all concerned had it been him and helped her and that would have been the end of that. Edward could have cared less if it had been him and frankly she wouldn't have batted an eye. But of course with her luck it was Gyendal which for some strange reason mad the whole thing feel horribly awkward and she didn't even know why.

Letting out a sigh she glanced up, just in time to see Te'ijal glance over her shoulder at Gyendal and share a significant look with the younger Ravenfoot who only inclined his head in response to whatever was going on. Rolling her eyes Mel braced herself against the floor as the car started off again.

But as they went around the next corner Mel could have sworn that Te'ijal was doing this on purpose because she turned the wheel in the other direction just enough to unbalance Mel before whipping around the corner in the correct direction and sending her into Gyendal's side again!

"Te'ijal! Would you stop that?!" She snapped, grabbing onto the front of the seat to try and catch herself.

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything?" The red haired woman said simply, whipping around another corner.

Mel gritted her teeth.

Oh she was doing it on purpose just to be a pain. What Mel couldn't figure out on the other hand is why she was choosing to torment her brother as well when he was notorious for being a terror when he was in a mood.

* * *

By the time they reached their destination Mel was pretty sure she had spent more time forced against Gyendal by Te'ijal's unusually bad driving then she had in her own seat. She gave Edward who was thoroughly engrossed in some action movie on his phone a hard elbow in the side, the male nearly jumping out of his seat with a shriek as Mel laughed and slid out of the car.

"Hey guys!" Stella called, jogging over from the bench where she had been waiting.

"I envy you, you live in that apartment thing down the street so you didn't have to get up so early." Mel said with a sigh, Stella giggling and patting her shoulder on her way by to go stand with Edward as everyone turned towards their destination.

The Aveyond night market.

"Well what are you all just standing there for, let's go!" Te'ijal proclaimed, looping an arm through Galahad's as they set off into the market.

Laughter and loud voices washed over them dozens of languages from all over Aia mixing together as people explored the market. The six of them all bunched together as they wove through people filling the isles.

"A sword booth?!" Galahad suddenly called out, pointing towards a booth decorated extravagantly and filled with a variety of blade kinds.

They migrated through the crowd, discovering that the booth was in actuality filled with cosplay weapons.

"These are are so realistic." Galahad muttered, completely enamoured.

"Oh brother, here he goes." Mel muttered with a roll of her eyes before groaning as the other males moved to investigate the booth.

"Well if they're going to abandon us, then we are going to find ourselves some entertainment." Te'ijal said with a wink, Mel and Stella grinning before falling into step with the red haired female who led across the way to a glass blowing booth.

The man running the booth expertly rolled the glass ball on the end of his tool, smiling briefly at the three of them before returning his attention to his craft. Mel and Te'ijal watched in interest as Stella studied the glass decorations along one of the displays.

"Why'd you guys abandon us?!" Edward's voice floated across the path to them and the girls turned to see the three males wandering over. "Come on, there's so much more to see!"

Once again they were off through the market, stopping at various booths to browse and admire the different projects. As they strolled through the isle the breeze began to gain a biting chill. In her thin shirt and vest Mel found herself beginning to shiver, cursing her stupidity not to bring a coat the way the others had.

"You sound like a wind up chatter toy." Gyendal said from behind her, Mel starting to roll her eyes only to start as soft warmth was wrapped around her shoulders.

She looked down sharply and blinked in surprise as the sight of Gyendal's beloved red leather coat settled around her.

"Wait, you're letting me use your coat?! You nearly ripped Te'ijal's hand off when she tried to borrow it!" Mel pointed out.

Gyendal who had fallen into step next to her shot her a sidelong glance.

"My sister isn't always careful with the things she borrows from me. Not to mention that your shoulder is cold to the touch, not generally normal for you."

His explanation was casual and uncaring but a slight warmth fluttered in her chest and she smiled slightly, reaching up to pull the coat around her tighter as they stepped off the main market onto the boardwalk. The six of them strolled along the less crowded walkway, admiring the lights reflected off the store from the water below.

"Hey Te'ijal, so where is that store with the masks and dance-worthy you were saying was down here." Edward piped up, leaning around his girlfriend to watch the red haired female who was glancing at the signs.

"You can see the sign just ahead, it's the huge one that says Danby Formalwear." Galahad answered quickly, pointing up ahead to the boringly glowing sign. "I suggest that we split into guys with guys and girls with girls to get this done quicker. We can keep our outfits separate from the other group to keep the element of surprise for the night of the dance."

"I love that idea!" Stella exclaimed, glancing at the others who all voiced their agreement in varying tones.

Quickly they reached the massive store, stepping inside the heated lobby with sounds of relief before taking in the large vaulted ceilings and outfits that were being displayed around the large space. There were doors to either side of the hall that led to the men's section and the women's section, the children's sections and unisex further down closer to the tills at the other end.

"Look at this place..."

While everyone oohed at their surroundings Mel quickly slipped off Gyendal's coat, handing it quietly back to the black haired male who stood beside her glancing around at the displays.

"Thanks for the loan." She said, shrugging awkwardly when his glanced over and accepted his coat back with a dismissive shake of his head.

"No worries, I hardly mind sharing with you." He said with a half smirk before strolling off after the guys who had apparently set course for the men's department.

Mel blinked at his statement before turning to Stella and Te'ijal who were staring at her with the strangest expressions.

"What?!"

The two girls exchanged looks before Stella let out a giggle.

"Nothing Mel, let's go find our dresses."

* * *

Mel stood in front of the mirror mounted on the back of her dorm room, trying to wrestle a particularly stubborn piece of her hair back out of her face and into a clip although the fight wasn't going particularly well.

"Te'ijal! Can you come here and fix this? It's not working!"

The red haired woman stepped out of the bathroom, her own black mask in hand as she smirked at Mel's struggle.

"You're pinning it at an angle your hair won't sit naturally in, of course it isn't working. Give me those pins."

Mel gave a grumpy look and stood sullenly in front of the mirror as Te'ijal stuck pins in her hair and somehow made it look fancy in doing so. Finally after several minutes of fussing her red haired roommate stepped back and nodded, apparently satisfied with her work.

"You're ready to go now. Just grab your mask and we'll head down."

Mel nodded and moved over to the sidetable where she reached down to grab her mask, lifting it to study for a moment. Shimmering blue with silver decoration and completely unlike her usual type of clothing.

"Mel! Stop gaping at your mask like an idiot and come on!"

"I'm coming already, don't get your underwear in a knot alright?!" She yelled back, tying the mask on before grabbing the midnight blue skirt of her dress and lifting it so she could take off after Te'ijal who was already out the door.

After locking up their dorm room the two of them headed through the halls, making their way through the crowd of other students dressed to the nines for the ball. The sky above was clear, no clouds to obstruct the full moon above or the twinkling stars which fit the mood of the dance perfectly.

As soon as they had got inside the massive building that was hosting the dance a wall of noise hit them, laughter and voices climbing above the music to create a cacophony of sound for anyone who had just come out of the relatively quiet outdoors.

"Mel! Te'ijal! There you are!" Stella's soft voice called over the din, Mel and Te'ijal quickly weaving their way through everyone to reach the chocolate skinned girls side as she stood with a man with a mossy green mask.

"Hey Stella, looking good Edward." Mel said casually, looking around them as Te'ijal waved down someone from across the entrance.

"I never expected it to be so busy!" Edward said with a laugh. "Since it was such a last minute announcement for us students I figured that people wouldn't have realized the significance behind the event and wouldn't have bothered coming but look at the amount of people!"

"It's pretty crazy." Mel agreed before glancing over at two tall men strode across the hall towards them.

"Crumpet, you're looking quite dapper tonight." Te'ijal could be heard saying in leu of a greeting as Galahad came to a stop in front of her, blue and gold mask glittering under the lights.

As the two of them conversed Mel found her attention being pulled from their guaranteed to be entertaining conversation onto the black haired male that had just come to a stop in front of her. Piercing green eyes met her own blue ones and he very deliberately reached down to take her hand, raising it to his lips to brush a kiss over the knuckles before releasing it.

"This blue suits you very well Mel, you should wear it more often."

Mel wasn't sure her eyes could go any wider as she glanced between him and her hand, brain refusing to compute what had just taken place.

"Eh?!"

Gyendal's eyes glittered with amusement as he shot her a small wicked grin, seeming pleased with her reaction for reasons Mel could not fathom.

"Is something the matter Mel?"

She gave a brisk and hard shake of her head, shooting him a suspicious look.

"No, nothing at all!" She squawked, scuttling backwards slightly. "You know, we should go join the others. They seem to be having a rather interesting conversation."

Mel had no shame in admitting that having said that she proceeded to flee the sudden tension of her and Gyendal's interacting, ignoring his gaze as he watched her rush to go stand with their four friends.

"What's with you?" Edward asked lowly, glancing over at her startled when a scowling Mel squeezed herself between him and Te'ijal.

"Nothing, and I don't want to hear any comments you have to share." She muttered before freezing as a hand settled on her skin, fingers curling softly around her arm as she was moved to the side to make room for one Gyendal Ravenfoot.

Edward paused, glancing for a moment slowly between Mel and Gyendal before a soft snicker could be heard.

"Edward, what the hell is you-"

She was cut off when he dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder with a grin.

"Nothing to worry about, now we should dance because Stella isn't going to finish talking anytime soon and I'm bored."

Mel eagerly accepted the invite, practically dragging her friend onto the dance floor to get away from the tingles that presented themselves all the way down the arm that just seconds ago had been pressed against Gyendal's.

"I had no idea you liked dancing so much, I should-" Edward began, the wide grin signifying that whatever he was going to say was going to be trouble.

"If you value your life and comfort for dancing with your lovely girlfriend later you'll shut your mouth Edward." She muttered from between gritted teeth. "I am not above using magic to pants you in the middle of the dance floor."

Edward burst into laughter and Mel muttered a few choice words as her friend slung her about during their fast paced dance. Forcibly she shoved thoughts of the...incident from her mind and focused in on dancing with friends and switching between partners with breathless laughter and jokes.

Finally out of breath and ready for a break Mel abandoned the dance floor and her friends to stand with Te'ijal.

"You seem to be in a much more pleasant mood now then you were when you first fled to the dance floor." Her red haired friend said with a raised brow and slight smile.

"I didn't flee to the dance floor!" Mel said indignantly, Te'ijal laughing and shaking her head.

"Oh yes you did, what I'd like to know is what set you so off balance."

Mel snorted and turned away, arms crossed over her chest as she glanced around the busy room. Her eyes absently drifted along people, occasionally sparing a small smile when she made eye contact with one of her fellow classmates. Wen her eyes landed on the tall form of Gyendal across the way she found herself stopping, unable to tear her eyes away as the dark Mage who was standing at the snacks table seemed to sense her gaze and turned to meet her eyes. He held her gaze unblinkingly for a moment before tilting his head slightly and raising a mocking brow. Instantly Mel flushed and turned sharply away to face Te'ijal once more, grateful for the mask that covered part of her now red face.

However turning did little to ease the discomfort as she found Te'ijal laughing silently as she watched Mel with an infuriatingly knowing look on her face.

"So it's my brother who's succeeded in flustering you. You are never bothered by the general actions of others, so what makes tonight different?" Te'ijal prompted.

Mel considered ignoring the question altogether but after a moments consideration came to the conclusion that maybe Te'ijal could provide some insight on what the hell was going on.

"It makes it different tonight because your brother has had a personality transplant and it's creeping me out!" Mel vented, arms flapping slightly as she dramatically shared her frustration. "He's always been more aloof to everyone, even you and you guys are quite close! Then all of a sudden he's kissing my hand and going out of his way to make physical contact and looking at me and complimenting me- why are you laughing at me!?"

Te'ijal was indeed laughing, the sound only serving to further aggravate Mel.

"I'm laughing because for someone so advanced and skilled when it comes to magic and reading people around you when it comes to combat you must be one of the most dense people I have ever met." Te'ijal said, her tone filled with mirth. "Tell me Mel, before Edward and Stella got into a relationship when he was going out of his way to find excuses to put his arm around her, sit near her and was complimenting her appearance or finding reasons to converse with her what was he doing?"

Mel blinked, thrown by the conversation change.

"He was flirting of course. But what-"

Her question died on the tip of her tongue as her mind caught up to what Te'ijal was inferring and Mel felt her jaw drop as Te'ijal gave her a knowing look.

"Wait...you mean..."

Te'ijal gave a slow nod and Mel's threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"This whole night Gyendal's been flirting with me?!"

"Actually I've been flirting with you for months now but thanks for finally noticing." A smooth voice commented from behind her, causing Mel to whirl and bring herself face to face with Gyendal who had slipped up behind her unnoticed.

She was not proud of the slightly squeaky noise she made, and the smirk he shot her did not help calm her in any way. Without looking away he placed the glass he had been holding into his sister's hands before reaching out to take hold of Mel's hand.

"Keep that for me please sister, I'll be back eventually I'm sure." He said as he placed a hand on her waist and walked her backwards into the dance floor.

"What the- Gyendal!" Mel moved to pull away and leave the dance floor when quite suddenly her entire world was tipped upside down and she instinctively grabbed onto his shoulder with her free hand.

He grinned slightly at her expression before pulling her back up from the dip and twirled them further onto the floor before effortlessly leading her in a dance.

"So how are you enjoying your evening so far?" Gyendal asked, lips twitching as Mel gaped at him.

" _You_ were flirting with me?"

"Mine is going wonderfully, thanks for asking." He continued, purposely ignoring her question.

"You were _flirting_ with me?!

"I had a wonderful time watching everyone and now taking a dance with a beautiful girl in my arms." He mused, outright grinning as he baited her.

"You were flirting with _me_?!" Mel said once again, Gyendal chuckling lowly.

"Yes, I think we've established this already."

"But-... y-" Mel was at a loss for words, her brain was short circuiting as she tried to process what she had just learned.

He smirked slightly at her, his hand on her waist sliding slightly around to rest more on her back as with a quick tug he pulled her closer to himself.

"Relax Mel, just go with things for a little bit. You can overthink everything later." He murmured, twirling her out before pulling her back in and leaving her pressed up slightly against him.

Mel was quite positive that she wouldn't have been able to formulate a cohesive thought at the moment if she had tried, her mind far to focused on the feeling of his breath brushing over her forehead and the feeling of his hand pressed against her lower back.

She was so distracted that she never registered where Gyendal was steering them until they quite suddenly stopped in front of a door that would lead into a back hallway where storage rooms and another exit were located.

"Gyendal what-"

He released her waist and pressed a finger to her lips to silence her, mischief twinkling in his forest green eyes as he pushed the door open just enough to slide through and pull Mel out of the main hall after him.

Their shoes clicked against the linoleum as he pulled her down the hall by their joined hands, Gyendal turning to face her as he used his back to push the breakaway bar down and open the back exit to guide Mel outside with him.

He pulled her out onto the grass of the field that the back of the event hall was against and reached up with one hand to remove his mask, revealing the amusement in his features as he slid his coat off and placed it on the bottom of the bleachers with his coat.

"What are you doing?" Mel questioned, smiling in spite of herself as Gyendal shot her a wicked grin and twirled her again as if still in a dance before dipping her low and dropping a kiss onto her lips.

She never even got the chance to react before he had pulled her upright and moved just out of reach, beckoning at her in the universal signal of "come and get me".

"You are so asking for it now!" Mel growled, yanking off her heels before tossing them down underneath the bench where his jacket and mask were sitting.

"Hardly, you have to actually catch me first and we all know how unlikely that is." He taunted before jogging backwards a few steps

Mel's eyes narrowed in determination and she reached down to pull her skirt out of the way before taking off towards him.

If anyone had been watching the scene it would have been a truly comical sight, the tall male loping arose the field with a wicked laugh while a shorter girl with a dress skirt hiked up to her knees chased after him.

"Do you want to die?!" She shouted after him, quickly gaining on him despite the hindrance of her dress.

With a final push she reached out and grabbed his shoulder, Gyendal turning and catching Mel as she tried to get past him to pull her into his chest. Mel couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as she gave up the game, allowing herself to lean into her friend as she caught her breath.

"That was completely unfair." She got out around breaths before looking up at him, laughter fading at the serious look in his eyes.

They stood facing each other in silence, a hand settled on her waist and both of hers coming to rest against his chest. Further back of campus the sound of the bell tolling rang over the grounds, marking in eleven o'clock at night. Around Aia there was a rush of magic, mist coming up from the ground as the darker side of Aia came out to play. Mel let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as her eyes widened slightly, every nerve in her body was humming with the dark magic that washed over them.

Gyendal's eyes were glowing in the light from the magic and when he caught her studying him he smirked slightly. With a quick movement he turned her to fully face him, hand reaching behind her head to tug the ribbon on her mask. When it slid slightly towards being undone he paused, raising one black brow in question to her and Mel relaxed against the arm that had slid around her waist with his hand resting against her upper back, hesitating before closing her eyes in answer.

She felt the mask come undone before being pulled away and dropped in the grass next to them, excitement sparking in her veins as she felt the dark Mage lean in and brush slightly parted lips over her own again and again with featherlight touches. Her breath stuttered in her chest and she flattened her hand against his chest, sliding them up to link together behind his neck as she pulled him closed and pressed her lips firmly against his own. The kiss was not rushed, they had all the time in the world and Gyendal seemed determined to make the most of that time.

As the need for oxygen soon became far to present to ignore she felt Gyendal smile against her lips before slowly pulling away, Mel's eyes opening to meet his forest green ones.

"Well it took you guys long enough to just kiss and get it over with!" The sudden shout from partway down the field made them both jump and turn to face where their four friends were gathered, Edward grinning.

Mel muffled a snort before reaching down to grab her mask, Gyendal and her exchanging looks.

"I suppose it's only right to join them for the ceremony that takes place at midnight, wouldn't you agree?" Gyendal said with a shrug, Mel snickering as she gathered her dress skirt in the hand with the mask and nodded.

"As it happens I would agree, why don't we go and remind the idiots on campus exactly why Dark Mages are feared."

Gyendal laughed, the magic in the air thick enough that Mel could see it coiling around him.

"Yes. It is time to go celebrate All Hallows' Eve."


End file.
